UP TO 45,000 HOMES LOSE POWER ACROSS IRELAND THIS MORNING - STORM HECTOR UPDATE 8:00AM

Up to 45,000 home across Ireland have lost power this morning due to winds from Storm Hector worst affected areas so far have been Ulster and Connacht.

There have been power cuts all over Ireland this morning and was the reason Donegal Weather Channel took the decision last night to upgrade to whole of Ireland under a weather warning.

Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Galway, Roscommon, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Armagh, Antirm, Derry and down where the worst affected countys with trees down all over and power outage in a large number of areas.

Esb crews are working hard on restoring power but it will take a number of hours yet due to the strength of the winds.

The good news is the stongest of the winds have now passed but weather warnings wlll remain in place till later this morning

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Be careful if your out and about this morning folks there is a massive number of trees down If you see or know of damaged lines or Network DO NOT TOUCH DO NOT GO NEAR ring us immediately on 1850 372 999.

Apologies -Due to large call volumes after Storm Hector you may have to wait to get through to us . Our crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power .If your area is not on Power Check you can log a fault online here https://t.co/npkzB0w4Di#staysafe